Football is unmatched when it comes to fame and fortune, and the money to be made is staggering. However, what happens when the final whistle blows?
Who stands to benefit from the wealth amassed? The answer is often more complex than it seems. For some footballing legends, the drama off the pitch rivals anything they achieved on it.
Their lives reflect a spectrum of experiences, from devotion to chaotic disputes over their fortunes. Diego Maradona’s numerous relationships, for example, left a litany of children vying for their share.
Dividing his estate was always bound to be a nightmare. In contrast, the principled and steadfast Bobby Charlton left behind a legacy as clear-cut as the man himself. Mirror Football looks at the stories behind the wills and legacies of some footballing icons we’ve sadly lost in years gone by.
Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona’s death in 2020 left behind a tangled web of financial chaos. The Argentine icon, famous for his genius on the pitch and tumultuous life off it, left no will, setting the stage for a legal free-for-all among his heirs – at least eight children from six women, with additional paternity claims still pending.
Maradona’s estate is a mix of contradictions. Estimates of his net worth at the time of his death range from a modest £400,000 – drained by unpaid taxes and lavish spending – to an inheritance worth £60-80million, including properties, luxury cars, and even an amphibious vehicle gifted to him in Belarus.
His assets reportedly included five properties in Argentina, a diamond ring valued at £285k, and lucrative image rights. Yet his financial legacy is as fraught as his personal life. In 2005, the Italian government claimed he owed £31m in unpaid taxes from his Napoli days – a debt largely unresolved.
Known for his generosity and extravagant habits, Maradona himself once declared he intended to donate his fortune rather than leave it to his children, though Argentine law would have prevented him from doing so entirely. His death triggered a cascade of legal claims.
Two Argentinians pursued DNA tests to confirm their paternity, while the eight acknowledged children vied for shares. As one Argentine lawyer quipped, the inheritance saga is set to be as chaotic as the man himself – proof, perhaps, that even “The Hand of God” can’t avoid earthly entanglements.
Pelé
Even in death, Pelé’s legacy is as complex as his life, which saw him win three World Cups, score 1,279 goals, and navigate two marriages and two high-profile affairs.
The Brazilian football legend, who passed away in December 2022, left behind a reported fortune of £12m. His will allocated 30% to his widow, 60% to his seven recognised children, and 10% to two grandchildren.
However, a claim from Maria do Socorro Azevedo alleged she is Pelé’s eighth child, who he never met, significantly complicating the inheritance process. Maria, 60, has requested Pelé’s body be exhumed for a DNA test to prove her paternity.
This comes despite previous tests returning negative results and strong opposition from the lawyer representing Pelé’s widow, who called the request “unreasonable.”
According to Maria, her mother never informed Pelé of her pregnancy, and her attempts to confirm her claim began in 2019 but were delayed by his declining health and the pandemic.
Pelé himself reportedly acknowledged the possibility of an eighth child in his will but passed away before paternity could be conclusively determined. Edinho, one of his children and the executor of his estate, insists that previous tests proved Maria’s claim false.
If this wasn’t complicated enough, Pelé’s will included Sandra Regina, a daughter he denied throughout her life despite DNA tests and a 1991 court ruling confirming their relationship.
Sandra, who passed away 17 years ago, never saw her father acknowledge her, but her share of the estate passed to her two sons, whom Pelé met for the first time on his deathbed.
Bobby Charlton
Sir Bobby Charlton passed away in October 2023 at the age of 86, leaving behind £631k in his will. The Manchester United legend designated the entirety of his estate to his wife, Lady Norma Charlton, 84. Charlton’s daughters, Suzanne and Andrea, were named trustees alongside solicitor Andrew Kay.
Born in the mining town of Ashington, Charlton rose from humble beginnings to become one of football’s greatest figures. Signing with United at just 15, he went on to play 758 matches and score 249 goals over a glittering 17-year career.
He survived the 1958 Munich Air Disaster, which claimed the lives of eight team-mates, returning to the pitch just weeks later and in 1968, he captained United to a poignant European Cup victory.
Two years earlier, his goals drove England to their 1966 World Cup triumph in the same year he earned the Ballon d’Or. Charlton retired in 1973 and later became a global ambassador for the sport, earning a knighthood in 1993.
His death was ruled accidental, linked to lung trauma and a fall, and he battled dementia in his final years – a condition that also affected his brother Jack, who passed in 2020. Sir Bobby’s passing leaves Sir Geoff Hurst as the only living member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team.
Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis, Britain’s first £1m footballer and the man who scored Nottingham Forest’s winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final, left behind a fortune of £1.9m – but none of it went to his sons. Before his death in July 2024 at the age of 69, Francis amended his will in 2019, excluding his sons James and Matthew due to estrangement.
Instead, he left his estate to his brother Ian and sister Carolyn, both based in Plymouth. Francis, who lost his wife Helen to breast cancer in 2017, wrote in his will that neither of his children were financially dependent on him. While the reasons for the rift remain private, his sons did attend his funeral in Marbella, Spain, where Francis spent much of his later life.
Born in Plymouth, Francis became a teenage sensation at Birmingham City before Forest broke the British transfer record in 1979 to sign him. Manager Brian Clough famously insisted the fee was £999,999 to reduce the pressure, but months later, Francis’ header secured Forest’s first European Cup.
He went on to play for Manchester City, Sampdoria – where he won the Coppa Italia – Atalanta, Rangers, and QPR, where he served as player-manager. His managerial career was highlighted at Sheffield Wednesday, leading them to a third-place First Division finish and runners-up spots in the FA Cup and League Cup before leaving football in 2003.
Joe Kinnear
Joe Kinnear, former Tottenham player and Newcastle manager, left an estate worth £833k to his wife Bonnie following his death in April 2024 at age 77. He was diagnosed with dementia in 2015, and his family believes the condition was linked to the repeated heading of the ball during his 11-year professional career.
Born in Dublin to a Guinness brewery worker, Kinnear joined Tottenham at 17. Over a decade at Spurs, he made 258 appearances, collecting five trophies in the process.
After a brief stint at Brighton, he retired from playing in 1977 and transitioned into management, where he famously steered Wimbledon’s “Crazy Gang” to sixth place in the Premier League in 1993/94, earning Manager of the Year honours.
Later roles with Luton, Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle followed, though his time on Tyneside was marked by controversy, including a notorious press conference in 2008 where he unleashed a profanity-laden tirade, swearing 50 times in the first five minutes.
His passing brought renewed attention to the risks of brain injuries in football, prompting his family to join a lawsuit against football’s governing bodies, accusing them of negligence in preventing brain damage among players.
John Motson
Legendary football commentator John Motson, known affectionately as “Motty,” left an estate worth £488k after his death at the age of 77. His eight-page will, written in 2005, named his wife Anne, son Frederick, and sister-in-law Susan Fielding as beneficiaries, though the specific distributions remain undisclosed.
Motson, instantly recognisable in his iconic sheepskin coat, was revered for his encyclopedic knowledge of football stats – knowledge he meticulously compiled with Anne’s help.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, he covered over 2,000 matches, including 29 FA Cup finals and 10 World Cups, becoming a defining voice of the game. After retiring from the BBC in 2018, Motson continued his career with talkSPORT, cementing his place as a broadcasting legend.
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